Best hair color in a box?

[Anonymous]

I've always had my hair professionally colored but can no longer so this due to recent financial woes. I have no choice but to go to the store and buy a kit. What's the best one? I have brown hair and lots of gray. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I use L'Oreal Preference--the pinkish box, and so do a few of my girlfriends. I tried using other brands that are ammonia-free, etc., but they didn't cover my gray hair (I'm about 40-50% gray).

[Anonymous]

I like L'Oreal products a lot. I use their Natural Match right now. Gives me the most natural looking medium/dark blond. I'm only about 15% gray, but it covers it.

[Anonymous]

I like Perfect 10 by Clairol (I think). It cuts down the waiting time with goop on your head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I use L'Oreal Preference--the pinkish box, and so do a few of my girlfriends. I tried using other brands that are ammonia-free, etc., but they didn't cover my gray hair (I'm about 40-50% gray).

Ditto except my hair is light blond. I've been using L'oreal Preference for 10 years and my Georgetown stylist, who is well know for his color, says he could not do it better. Lots of people think my hair is totally natural and are shocked when I admit to "helping" it and alomost fall over if I say I do it myself. I have to admit though I have NO idea if I am at all gray but its unlikely as my mom didnt go gray until 50 or 60 and Dad at 60 and "other parts" of me are not gray at all (I am 40). A key to self coloring is to keep the new application of product to only the roots as much as possible and use lots of good conditoner every day and a color preserving shampoo once a week - at least. Also, I swear that taking Omega-3 capsules helps keep your hair shinier and fuller and in better condition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I use L'Oreal Preference--the pinkish box, and so do a few of my girlfriends. I tried using other brands that are ammonia-free, etc., but they didn't cover my gray hair (I'm about 40-50% gray).

oops, I just looked at the conditioner that came with the hair color and it's L'Oreal EXCELLENCE.

also, I should add that in my experience, the color looks a little too intense the first few days after I do it, but by a week later it has a much more natural look. Not sure if it's that way for all colors though. I use a medium golden brown.

[Anonymous]

How long does coloring last? (when you do out of a box).. also- I'm 15% gray but it seems in the wrong spots (where I pull my hair up).. highlights was expensive and still showed it- is there a way to do a highlight / coloring mix? My "dare to be cheaP" experience at a less $ salon gave me blond strands of highlights (I have dk brown hair) and I had to go back so she colored it medium brown and so the highlights look very subtle but nicer - so maybe coloring is the way to go?

I have dark brown hair.. (sorry Op to hijack- i wasn't sure if creating a new topic would take away more from your original question)..

also- is it hard to do on your own? financial woes here too..

[Anonymous]

I use Garnier Nutrisse and I like it a lot. I have quite a lot of gray, especially in front, and it shows up as slightly lighter brown higlights when I color it. One tip: even if you have dark bronw/black hair, color a shade or two lighter to avoid that awful dark "dyed" look.

[Anonymous]

I used L'Oreal Excellence and am very happy. It lasts 4 weeks, not because the color fades but because my hair grows so fast. I have very stubborn gray in big patches at my crown, temples and ears. I would have white stripes in my hair if I didn't color it. I do think the color looks as good as an average salon's color. Though I went to a very expensive salon for color once and have to admit it was wonderful.

Ditto the advice to condition every day, wear a hat in the sun (my hair can get brittle in the summer), take Omega 3's, and buy a color a bit lighter than you think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

also- is it hard to do on your own? financial woes here too..

Not hard to do, you just have to set aside about an hour to do it (not always easy with kids!) for applying, letting it sit (time varies by brand and how resistant your grays are), then rinsing it out and conditioning. It's best if you have a laundry sink or another deep sink to do it in so you can rinse when you're done. We don't in our new house, so I put on an old button down shirt before I color and then just take it off and jump in the shower to rinse when I'm done.

I bought my last boxes at WalMart--I got two boxes of the L'Oreal Excellence for under $10.

If you do go to the salon, what I used to do was just get partial highlights around my face and on top (my hair is pretty short) and then he would put color on all the hair that wasn't in foil and it wasn't terribly expensive. I haven't had highlights for a few years now and don't miss them.

[Anonymous]

I think I use a Loreal product. It has "multi-colors" in it (says something like adds natural highlights). I think it looks more natural than a salon-based product (although, not as nice as a good color and highlight job).

One thing to note, professional color REALLY sticks to your hair, so it's difficult to go from a darker professional colored job to a out of the box color that is lighter, so stick with a similar color (at least at first). For me, I changed when I paid way too much money for a horrible highlight job. The good news is so much of my hair was overly highlighted that the out of the box stuff adhered well.

I don't find it hard, but do find I have to keep it on for 45-50 minutes for it to cover grey hair. Most says to keep it on for less time, but in the footnotes mentions you may need to keep on longer for "resistent greys". Also, after you put it on, clean up around you...wait five minutes..and go back and clean again. You may see spots of color that spilled you didn't see the first time. It's easy to clean if you get it in a few minutes, not so easy if you wait an hour (yes, I know this from experience).

[Anonymous]

use garnier de fructis, its good, it covers gray and the color is natural